


Rising

by Ellerigby13



Series: 2019 Valentine's Date-a-palooza [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Mutual Pining, Valentine's Day Prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 04:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17822198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellerigby13/pseuds/Ellerigby13
Summary: Jane's got a date with a mystery man on Valentine's Day, of all days, so naturally Darcy has to collect information.  Steve comes along to help, and also because he's hopelessly in love with her.For my 2019 Valentine's Date-a-palooza prompts :)





	Rising

**Author's Note:**

  * For [caffeineawarenessclub](https://archiveofourown.org/users/caffeineawarenessclub/gifts).



Steve swallowed for what felt like the hundredth time, busying himself with his wineglass while Darcy tried unsuccessfully to look inconspicuous as she guided the restaurant menu in front of her face.  After a moment, she craned her neck to peek at the tables behind him.

“You know, you could probably just ask Jane who she’s going on a date with in the lab tomorrow.”  She cocked an eyebrow at his offering and slid the menu to the side. “I’m just saying, you guys work together a lot...she seems really comfortable with you…”

“She doesn’t want to tell me.  She knows I like her and Thor together.”  She sat up straight, peeked over the top of their menus, then hunched behind the makeshift shield.  “Don’t worry, soldier, it’s only a recon mission. I’m not gonna, like, ruin their date or anything.”  When a sly smile crossed her lips, Steve raised his eyebrows.

“No - no, recon only.  That’s...what you brought me on for.”

Helping Darcy spy on her friend and former boss was not necessarily the way Steve had hoped to spend Valentine’s Day, but when she’d asked him to dinner with her back at the base, her eyes big and wide and hopeful, there was no way he could say no to her.

He’d denied being sweet on her for a while, but doing this favor meant spending more time with her, and because it wasn’t _really_ a date, he could ignore any delusion that she might have been sweet on him, too.  She got her recon, Steve got to see her off-base - overall, it was a win-win.

She was reaching across the table now, and taking his large, rough hand in her small, manicured one, running her thumb over his knuckles.

“Hey,” she said quietly, those big blue eyes boring right into his.  “I really owe you for this one, Steve. And I’m sorry if I screwed up any V-Day plans you might have had…”  She trailed off, a sliver of teeth baring down on the plush of her lower lip.

“I didn’t,” he said, too quickly.  A dull heat rose into his cheeks, and he shook his head, running a hand back through his hair.  “I didn’t have any plans. It’s actually nice, you know? To get off base for a little bit. Not have everything be about work.”  He brought his wineglass to his lips again. She was smiling, for real this time, a sparkle in her eye that Steve couldn’t quite put his finger on.  

He wanted to ask her why she didn’t have a real boyfriend - or girlfriend - she could do this with.  Or a friend with benefits, even. Or a friend or neighbor or anyone other than the one guy at the Avengers compound who couldn’t quite explain just how head over heels he was for her.

“So, tell me if I’m out of line here.”  She paused to straighten up, glancing over the menus and over his shoulder, then relaxed into her seat again, directing her gaze back at him.  “But why _don’t_ you have V-Day plans?”

That dull heat traveled to his ears, and as though Darcy could see the wheels turning in his head, she nearly frantically waved the question away.

“I’m sorry.  I’m not, like, trying to overstep any more boundaries than I’ve already done, inviting you here.  It’s just…” She drew in a deep breath and expelled it equally heavily. Was it him, or was there a thin blush splashed across her cheeks, too?  “You’re...you know, _you_.  There’s really no girl on base who might ask you...I don’t know…”  Darcy shrugged, then averted her gaze back to her menu, pulling it towards her.  “What are you thinking about getting? The duck with wild carrots looks good.”

Steve drew in a sharp inhale, prepared to tell her he had no idea what he wanted for dinner, only that he really had no interest in figuring out who Jane was out with and maybe, very gently, of course, because he understood how important Jane was to Darcy, maybe suggest that he’d wanted to ask her to a place like this, and hadn’t known how, and maybe now that they were already here, they make the most of it.  But then Darcy was gasping, and propped her menu up to conceal her face all the way up to her forehead.

“He’s here,” she’d hissed, and one blue eye appeared over the leather menu cover across the table from him.  “Dark hair, blue tie, your five o’clock, I wanna say.”

Steve chanced a peek over his shoulder, raising his arms over his head in a feeble impersonation of a stretch.  But in that peek he could definitely see Jane standing, her face lighting up, and the back of the stranger’s head as he reached down to hug her, his hair a deep, dark brown.  He had to be at least six two, tall and lanky, like he’d never grown into his limbs, and when the hug broke, Steve caught a glimpse of the silver glint of the man’s wristwatch.  Steve’s heart jumped when Jane’s line of sight met his, and he whipped around quickly, unsure whether she’d actually seen him or not.

“He doesn’t look familiar.”

Darcy groaned softly, leaning forward and tilting her menu down to glance over the top at whatever was going on behind Steve.  Not a full second passed before her eyes widened with fear.

“Shit, I think she’s looking over here.  Shit, you think she knows it’s us?”

The reasonable part of him wanted to tell her that he thought he’d seen Jane catch him looking at her.  The selfish part of him remembered being tracked down by HYDRA in the middle of a mall, and a little trick Natasha had taught him.

“Kissing in public makes people uncomfortable.”  It was a fact. Not even a fact, a quote. Or a paraphrase of a quote, even.  Nothing in his tone, nor in the content of the sentence, indicated that it was a suggestion.

But Darcy leaned across the table anyway, her hands on his collar, and pulled Steve into her, pressing her lips hard to his.

Steve froze for a moment - unable to kiss her back, unable to think, unable to really consider that the way her mouth tasted had been everything he’d thought it would, and more.  And then he closed his eyes and let his hands move to cradle her face, one cautious and lingering at the side of her cheek and the other resting on the back of her neck.

God, she was warm.  And soft. And the taste of her lip gloss was tangy, like champagne bubbles floating to the surface.  Like her.

When they broke apart, his heart sank a little at the way her eyes darted back over his shoulder, and he remembered why they were there.

“They still looking?” he asked, his voice much huskier than he remembered it being.

Darcy looked up at him, a defiant sparkle in her eyes.

“No,” she said, and pulled him to her again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed <3


End file.
